A Bad Idea
by kiryu-kun
Summary: After the events of P4, Rise and Souji want to build a life together but face challenges as they discover their paths may go in different directions.


"I think it's a bad idea."

The words were spoken nonchalantly. An off-handed remark to the speaker, who watched the listener behind a pair of expensive sunglasses. A bad idea: that's all it is. Fact of life. Move on.

The listener, young Yu Narukami, watched the speaker, Rise's manager, with that deep expression of his.

"It's not that you don't _communicate_," Rise once told him. "It's just that you don't often _speak_."

Narukami didn't watch the manager with an expression of anger or distaste, but one of emptiness. He would not move on; he would not accept this man's words as a fact of life. But he didn't know how to fight it.

He didn't know how to tell the manager of famous idol Rise Kujikawa that no, sorry, I am going to have her in my life and she's going to stay here and live with me forever and she can't go off and do the touring or singing or interviewing or whatever he had planned for her.

He wanted to say it _so bad_. He wanted to knock the guy out and tell him: No. I love her, she is mine, no one else will ever have her. I love her and she loves me and you will leave now.

But he had a life to live, and she had a life to live, and as the manager had said: It would be a bad idea.

They could compromise; that was the only way to make it work, frankly. Could Narukami go on tour with Rise, so she wouldn't have to choose between her "lives?" Rise certainly couldn't stick around with Narukami, because that would mean abandoning the life she was building.

This discussion had come up a few days earlier, over dinner in Yu's home.

He had moved back to the city with his parents, and Rise had followed. It was a sacrifice for her, parting from Inaba, but it was the right time anyway; with her inner demons faced down, she was confident in her choice to try getting back into the idol business. That would not be easy trapped in Inaba.

Even though Rise's reasons were sincere, Narukami knew that his departure had motivated her to leave, and he would catch her every now and then missing the home she spent so little time with. This always resulted in a pang of guilt, but one that he tried- and usually failed- to hide from the girl.

So they sat at the dining table in the apartment which was Narukami's home. His parents, neglectful as ever, were to be out late and they had the home to themselves. While this had led Rise to dream up a number of activities which took advantage of their late night solitude, as they chatted over the meal Yu had cooked, they also valued the time so they could speak of heavier things.

Rise took a moment to build up her courage, and finally let out the burden which had clearly been weighing on her in one big burst:

"If I'm going to bring my career back I have to go on tour and I could be away for a really long time and I don't want you to forget about me while I'm away and if I could bring you I would and I'm really really sorry and I hope you still love me!"

Though Narukami was never talkative, his silence after this was particularly notable.

He wasn't a complete idiot. He knew that returning to the business would mean losing her while she was away. She had to make her career come to fruition, and they both knew that maturing into adults meant making sacrifices. They just didn't want those sacrifices to be each other.

In the silence, Rise's eyes glistened with tears. Narukami saw a single tear fall and reached across the small table to caress her cheek. Rise closed her eyes tight, as a serene expression slipped across her features.

"We'll make it work," he said, simply.

More tears began to fall as Rise wore a weak smile.

"I want to believe you," she said, "but how?"

"We would talk all the time. I could travel to some of your performances…"

"We're both looking at college entrance exams, Yu. You're lucky enough to be home and ready to prep for it… I have to do that on the road, if at all."

That firmness in her gaze caught Narukami's attention. They both had things to do, goals to accomplish- major ones, future-deciding ones. This was truly what it meant to be between a rock and a hard place.

Narukami mustered some kind of joke about the exams and they both allowed the mood to lighten a bit so they could keep in mind the happiness which made them want to be together in the first place. Later on that night, they were cuddled up on the couch watching one of Rise's favorite girly animes when she said:

"Why are you with me? Why am I worth all of this effort?"

It took Yu aback, because her gaze and position didn't shift despite her tone shifting dramatically. He knew silence would be terrible, though, and said:

"Because you're the only person I've ever felt safe opening up to. Because no matter how rough things got, you more than anyone else had my back… because I can't stop thinking about you and I never want to."

That earned him a long, lingering kiss, and for the time being, the tone seemed to be upbeat. That was, of course, until Narukami's seemingly charitable appearance at Rise's meeting with her manager.

He wanted to be in that meeting to support her, and she wanted him there to make him proud of what she was setting out to accomplish. Rise's manager, on the other hand, seemed to be completely uncomfortable with Yu's presence. What little he said to Yu was terse, and most of the time he basically pretended that the boy wasn't there at all.

Narukami was used to his silence causing him to blend in with the wallpaper sometimes, but that wasn't an excuse when he was here with the main attraction in the room. He wanted to say _I've tapped that, god dammit, and you will not ignore me._

Or some paraphrased version of those words. Narukami was new to slang.

He stayed quiet until the end of the meeting. Rise, energized by the support her agency was still willing to give her despite a lengthy break, bounced out of the meeting room ahead of everyone. Narukami made for the door as well, but was stopped.

"Hang out a minute, would you?" The manager said, finally conversing with the boy in some regard.

Yu stopped in his tracks and turned to the manager, worried. His worries were not unfounded, as the manager's question cut deep:

"What are you planning to do with Rise? She has a career to make happen. She doesn't have time to take away from that. How are you going to be a part of it?"

Yu's stammered answer was unsatisfactory for both of them:

"We'll talk a lot," he said, "and I might go to some of her shows."

"Really?" The manager said flatly.

The man picked up his briefcase, put on his sunglasses, and nonchalantly said:

"I think it's a bad idea."


End file.
